A panel of seven people discussed the ethics of gun ownership at a forum Tuesday evening in Dawson Auditorium on the Adrian College campus.

The event, which was sponsored by the Adrian College Institute for Ethics, drew 148 members of the public.

The panel was composed of five members who supported gun rights and two who questioned them. That imbalance was the product of an unanticipated scheduling conflict and a cancellation, said Fritz Detwiler, director of the Institute for Ethics. The original plan was for a more evenly divided panel, Detwiler said.

Panel member Melissa Stewart, associate professor of philosophy and religion at Adrian College, opened the forum by recounting how she learned that the child of good friends was one of the children killed in the school shooting in December in Newtown, Conn.

At the request of her friends Jeremy Richman and Jennifer Hensel of Newtown, Stewart led the funeral service for the couple’s child, Avielle Richman, who was 6 when she died.

Stewart recounted how she had been grading papers when she first heard of the Newtown shootings, and how she remained focussed on her grading, only casually following the Newtown events until she got the call telling her that her friends’ child had died.

“I had to ask myself why didn’t I care until I found out it was someone I knew,” Stewart said.

Each panelist was asked to make a short opening statement. Tony Coumoundouros, Adrian College associate professor of philosophy and religion, who supported restricting firearms, said if the fundamental question is about preventing bodily harm and death, there needs to be an analysis of the costs and benefits of guns.

“Firearms have the highest damage co-efficient if you compare them to knives or bats and other kinds of weapons,” Coumoundouros said.

Jamison Grime, superintendent of Montpelier Exempted Village Schools in Montpelier, Ohio, which decided to have some of its employees carry concealed guns, said that appeared to be the best means of protecting students. The decision to allow the concealed guns started with the school shooting in Chardon, Ohio, that killed three students in February 2012, Grime said. The decision was right for his community, he said.

“I don’t necessarily believe that this is right for every community in America,” Grime said.

Hillsdale College history professor David Raney said the right to defend oneself is as old as mankind, and he referred to the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” phrase in the Declaration of Independence.

“In order for these historical rights, such as the right to life, to mean anything, the right to protect that life must be upheld as well,” Raney said.

Page 2 of 2 - Dave Coy, professor of accountancy and business administration at Adrian College and a member of the board of directors of the National Rifle Association, argued for the crime-deterrent effect of guns as well as the value of gun sports to the economy and for recreation. He also argued that they have a role in protecting government by the people.

“Privately owned guns are essential in assuring that we the people retain power,” Coy said.

Lenawee County Sheriff Jack Welsh said he favors gun rights, but also said gun owners have a responsibility for the safekeeping of their weapons.

“The question here, as somebody else said, is where do you draw the line on what is allowed, and does drawing the line violate one’s Second Amendment rights?” Welsh said.

Lansing area attorney Steven Dulan, who is on the board of directors of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners, said protecting oneself and others by being armed is a moral duty.

“In my mind there’s a moral and ethical duty for those who can to be armed,” Dulan said.

Stewart, who was the other panel member to question how extensive gun rights should be, said she wanted to talk about the practicalities of whether gun ownership or restrictions are more useful for saving life.

The panelists talked for about an hour about the effectiveness of guns as a means of protection, the obligations of gun ownership, whether gun rights are absolute, the phrase “assault weapon,” and other topics before taking questions from the audience.

After the forum, audience member Mark Nagy of Clinton said the discussion was good. He said he believes there should be more investigation before the government decides on any weapons bans.